July 9: 112 miles from Hindman, KY, to Rosedale, VA
David woke up early to have breakfast ready for us at 5:15a. We requested fruit and cereal and he provided us with a wonderful selection of each. Bananas, strawberries, apples, and hand-picked blueberries are a treat normally and we especially appreciated them after eating convenience store breakfasts.
Our morning's ride took us to Elkhorn City, KY, which is right before the Breaks Interstate Park straddling the border with Virginia. Along the route we ran into some of the roughest road and definitely the hardest climb (along Rt. 611), which of course stands out more than the otherwise decent riding. We ate lunch at The Rusty Fork, where we had a nice conversation with the owner about how hilly the area is and also we got our water bottles filled. The lunch was both big and delicious. Larry had a nap and I had a piece of butterscotch pie for dessert.
The Virginia border was only 3 miles after lunch, and I was happy to see the sign. Unfortunately we were greeted by a climb, but it wouldn't be Appalachia without one. The ride included a few of these long climbs, and we were glad to see Rosedale. The excitement of entering Virginia definitely gave me the extra strength I needed to finish this very long day.
July 10: 73 miles from Rosedale to Wytheville, VA
After a long day on 7/9, I was glad to see that we could take a huge shortcut on this day. The route took us very far south to Damascus and through some hilly area including Mount Rogers (the highest peak in Virginia), only to head back north; this would be around 100 miles and obviously be tough riding. Instead, we headed south on the route to Meadowview and then took Route 11 all the way to Wytheville. Route 11 is a pretty main road running parallel to Interstate 81, so we saved a lot of mileage and had a much easier ride. Not that I'm biased or anything, but Virginia is a gorgeous state so riding along this major road was still very enjoyable. In addition, riding only from 9a-4p was a treat compared to the 10-14 hour days we've often done.
One issue we had, though, was that Larry has another broken spoke on his rear wheel. Again, it's fortunate that we had an easy ride with the mechanical issue. The next day we would have a selection of bike shops, too, so we weren't really worried about the issue.
July 11: 99 miles from Wytheville to Roanoke, VA
I was pretty stoked for this ride because I knew that I would be rewarded with my family and girlfriend at the end of the trail. It gave me the kind of motivation where I felt bulletproof.
We rode about 43 miles to Radford, where we found a really good bike shop (Radford Paddle & Bike) that was able to satisfy Larry's bike needs. He needed a new rear tire and the shop had the Specialized Armadillos, and the guy also was able to do a big re-dishing of Larry's rear wheel in addition to putting another spoke in. This gives the wheel more balance, which may have been causing his wheel issues along the trip. Hopefully this will fix his wheel issues from here on out.
I'd coordinated to meet with my dad, brother Louie, and friend Jim for lunch in Christiansburg, which was the halfway point. I was so glad to see them all and eat at Famous Anthony's (food's good but the nostalgia for me couldn't be beat). After lunch, dad grabbed our BOB trailers and Larry and I rode the rest of the way with Louie and Jim. Jim could probably ride any route in southwest VA blindfolded so he led us along the 76 to Catawba and then we dropped down 311 into Roanoke to my house. He's also ridden cross-country 3 times. Louie hasn't done any road biking in Virginia since he picked it up while working in Montana last summer, so he was glad to check it out. It rained on us but without BOBs, cold weather, or major climbs I didn't really mind.
I honestly can't believe that I rode a bicycle from Oregon to my house.
Left to right: Louie, Charley, Kipper, Larry
Left to right: Louie, Charley, Jim, Larry
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